When
does one become an Astrologer?

One of my astrology students asked me, after
6 months of study, whether she was on the path towards
the right profession or whether she should do something else. But when does one become an
astrologer? It is not
that easy to put something on paper in this respect, but
an attempt is made here. I wish to expressly state that
my views are pretty European and based on my local experience. I cannot judge the culture and sentiments in
this respect in America, where I encounter wholly
different viewpoints, as there seems to be an idea that
astrology needs to be controlled more, maybe based on a
culture where the practice of astrology used to be
prohibited in certain states, something that is not part
and parcel of my upbringing.

To start with, I don't think that
anybody chooses the profession of astrology, the
profession chooses you instead. Since the dawn of humanity, astrologers were priests and was for
initiates.
But what does one mean with initiates? One could probably
say : people who know themselves or rather people who
know the Self. I do think it is true that no-one can help
anybody else without understanding oneself, or even
without realization of the Self. True, in reality this is
so for all helping professions. In the book Pluto, the
evolution of the Soul (Vol I) Jeff Green gives a
useful structure of the development of human
consciousness throughout certain lifetimes.

1) first we enter this planet as if new, and have to learn everything still
(just like
entering this life in an individual lifetime as a
baby) Green states that in all cultures and all
times 5% of the human souls have incarnated practically
for the first time - there is no need for them yet to
carry any responsibility, and they can enter the world
full of love (yet unconsciously so) - in this respect one
could think of a number of souls who need to be looked
after by other people, because of a handicap maybe :
souls who have no need yet to carry any worldly
responsibility (just like babies, who can do nothing
without the help and support of their parents).

2) then one 'enters the world' and
acquires a position therein. This process takes
maybe a coupe of lifetimes, and after a few of them some
people know the worldly rules so well, that they are
thorough experts in dealing with it, one could think of
successful worldly politicians and managers in this
respect. They are phases to go through to move on.
Bringing it back to one lifetime, I think it equates with
the phase between 20-29 years of age : the phase where
one makes a worldly career. This fails ultimately at 29,6 (Saturn return), if all is
well, or put otherwise: this
ambition is not enough anymore around that time. Green
says that 70% of the people on the planet are in this phase, and I suggest that 70% of the material within us
belongs to this phase also: wants to make it in the world
with worldly ambitions. Apparently 70% of the planet
consists of water, which is an interesting analogy).

3) the next phase (roughly 20%) are
those souls who individualize. Born in such a phase in a
certain lifetime, Green equates this with being the black
sheep in the family, the outcast somewhat even (Uranus)... - but between 30-35 years of age the chances
are in each lifetime to individualize out of the herd
state of worldly ambitions alone. And because this
is the Uranian phase, I think astrology belongs to
this phase and state of being.

4) the last phase is the spiritual one, consisting of roughly 5% of the
people, where maybe
2% really do realize God, or as Rudhyar probably says: discover/realize the Godhead
within.

This abstract view of development (or
evolution) can be equated with one lifetime, but one
can also realize that in each profession these phases are apparent. 70% of the astrologers will want to practice it
on the status quo level has 'worldly ambitions'
- needing diploma's and so on and so forth - naturally
this is not consistent with the original priest/priestess
concept of astrologers.

And in our own development in astrology, we also meet up with these
phases:

1) encountering astrology for the
first time, there is this incredible amazement, the
discovery of a New World!

2) the next phase is getting a
Diploma in astrology, Making it in the Astrological World, making a name for
yourself, writing articles,
giving consultations, and becoming important in organizations: i.e. in the outer
world. A Worldy Career
as it were in astrology.

3) next there is the Uranian phase
and one decides to do things one's own way for a change.

4) and finally there possibly is a
spiritual phase and one discovers that astrology itself
is an initiatory path. And again, there is this
incredible Amazement, discovering a New World , almost as
if one is back at the beginning:-) but now no longer pure
from the perspective of the sense world, and no
longer unconsciously so.

Just like in 'ordinary life' (i.e.
the non-astrology life) loads of people (70%) are stuck
in this evolutionary path in that sense that worldly
ambitions are sought, and not the inner path around and
from 29,6 years onwards. This is just because no one can
skip steps and indeed before leaving the worldly
ambitions behind us, we must first go through them. There
is no judgment here, it is not a matter of higher and
lower - true, maybe it looks like it, but all the phases
are within us ourselves, and as soon as we skip a phase,
we have to return to it to redo it. Neptunian
people (Moon in Pisces people for instance) have the
inclination to skip phase 2 (i.e. enter the world and
become grounded in it) and will not do so until they
enter the phase of life of Neptune transit -90- Neptune.
All the same, astrology is not something which belongs by
nature to the worldly phase (I think anyway). It belongs
to the phase of individualization, and thus the normal OUTER, external, worldly rules of legislation do not
entirely belong to it, not ultimately. Outer regulation
means the inner feeling of responsibility has not been
developed as yet, as a child who needs parenting.

Yet there are astrologers on all
levels and that probably is the idea of nature anyway,
and in your own practice you need to go through all the phases.

To keep it simple: I don't think it
is that easy to make a profession of astrology in such a
way as to make a living out of it. If you do want to
become a successful astrologer, I think it will happen
only if you put aside all the other things in your life (which probably is true for success in all
careers): one
pointedly moving onwards towards your goal and skip
everything else. In the entire field of these kind of
freelance professions you are pretty dependent on your consultations: which is what astrologers make a living
from. But a consultation practice grows only very slowly. Advertisements don't really work too
well,
because people come to you by referral of earlier clients, and they only do so if they benefited from
the consultation. So things need TIME (in my experience
14 years... after 7 years of parttime work, 14 years
equate with the Full Moon phase and literally with the
possibility to start full time) Teaching is the
most lucrative and so people do this quite quickly in astrology. But personally I think that teaching can only
be so if one knows how to truly help people in consultations: it is the base material for one's
teachings, and the test in true life of all of your
theories and knowledge.

I don't know so many people who
fully live of astrology in the (small) country which I inhabit. Those who do write many
sunsigncolumns, because
these even pay better than teaching.. Most people
practice astrology parttime. I usually advise people who
work fulltime in another profession, to slowly work
somewhat less in the earlier career and start astrology
on a parttime basis. Build things up, and feel being
connected with the cosmos (or start feeling that for a change). A great story of one of my students who now has
her diploma and is practicing parttime meantime, worrying
herself silly over her retirement-pension and other securities if
she were to become a fulltime astrologer, is when she had
a computer crash not too long ago. She looked up to the sky and said: "God, if you want me to be an astrologer, don't take my computer away from me! "
The telephone started to ring...................

and God immediately answered her call. That is to
say: someone phoned her and said:
"listen, I have won a computer in some kind of contest, but I don't need the
thing, would you like to
have it?" ..............................

In fact, worldly ambition has to go
(and with it also all insecurities about external securities), but the fact is that we are part and parcel
of the duality where if we want to be a professional astrologer, we need to pay our electric
bills, rent and taxes, not to mention our personal upkeep. Yet in reality
it is true that if one is called, this will happen. But
maybe you need to make choices. In fact, you no longer
work for yourself but for humanity, for spirit, for the cosmos, something like
that. And this does not take place
prior to the Neptune-t-90 Neptune phase. And before that
time and on that path one is tested incredibly, for this
initiation ultimately. But if you carry things through,
it surely will work! And only those who really wish so, will carry on. Being interested in astrology and having a
fire in your heart for astrology are in fact the most
important requirements. And an open heart: well, this is
necessary for all helping professions. A heart full of revenge, hatred and envy can never do anything
worthwhile. The powers of the heartchakra are healing powers. A healer, an
astrologer, with a heart that is
closed will want to continuously improve on other
persons (or even improve the world) and never
accept another human being for who that other person
simply is and can really do more harm than good. Then
they use words, and words only. It is important that the
connection between the heart and the words is felt . This
is something that grows naturally, and speeds up with the
amount of selfknowledge, the amount of selfacceptance,
and forgiving oneself. When one feels the currents of
(non sensual) love, then life itself streams exactly in
the direction where it needs to go, in the right direction, and if that is becoming an
astrologer, then an
astrologer you will be.

There are plenty of astrologers
doing it on
ambition only, who just wish to want to make
it in the world, and succeed (in the eyes of the world).
But I find the heart the most important thing.

Next to the
goal of becoming a
professional astrologer, there are of course many people
who find their answers in astrology and rebuild their
life-philosophy with this language. Then astrology can
almost be equated with philosophy. Can a philosopher make
a living of philosophy? Or does it enrich your life? In
any case, it is a natural law, that even in an
overpopulated world, there is the space for each human
being to earn his or her own living. And whatever it is that you do,
even if it is office
cleaning NYC,you can still do it
from a certain philosophy, with love. In fact, in reality
it doesn't matter an inch what you do in life (it only
matters in the eyes of the world) , as long as you do
that which you do with your entire heart. There are
things in life which everybody has to do which are not
considered being fun things to do, such as doing
the dishes. The
art is to make them nice, not to
ignore them. Astrology can enrich your life incredibly so, and ...there are plenty of mediocre
astrologers, but
real good astrologers are always needed in any world, so
become one!